Tunnel Honors Williams

BOSTON — With the top down in a freezing rain, a white convertible carrying Ted Williams and Gov. William F. Weld cruised Friday morning through the new tunnel named for the baseball legend.

The car emerged into South Boston, and Williams took his place at a bunting-draped reviewing stand among the dozens of dignitaries invited to the opening ceremony.

Now 77 and slowed by two strokes, the retired player for Boston's beloved Red Sox congratulated the construction workers "in the upper deck there" as the hard hats watched from high concrete walls along the tunnel ramps.

"This is here, and you'll be talking about it for 100 years," said Williams, wearing a blue knit cap against the freezing cold.

After four years of construction, the $2.3 billion tunnel under Boston Harbor to the city's Logan Airport was to open to limited traffic later Friday.

Williams was an inspired choice for the project that has spanned 30 years and many administrations -- a Republican unassailable by Democrats, a war hero as well as a sports idol.